system: xbox 360
one sentence description: fast-paced third-person shooter-meets-racing arcade-style-game with a touch of mortal kombat thrown in there for good measure.
graphics: 9.0 - fluid, fast and very stylistic. explosions look particularly nice, and the main characters have some pretty cool animations. the two full environments i’ve played through so far have been very cool and unique in looks and layouts, and the frame rates appear to remain very solid.
sound: 7.0 - everything is well-positioned and well recorded, but the overall design isn’t standout. the guns sound a weak. they lack the punchiness of the guns they are emulating (not that i’ve ever shot a gun or anything, but when you compare it to, say, call of duty 4 or something like that, you know what i’m talking about). the voice acting, so far, is pretty good on the part of ‘the secretary’, but i have yet to hear much from the different characters, which is too bad, because the characters seem like they need to be saying something due to their different styles and graphical personalities.
challenge: 8.5 - if you’re familiar with racing games, part of the challenge is choosing the right vehicle or vehicle configuration, part of it is ‘touch’ (i.e. the way you are able to control the vehicle) and part of it is track memorization. the same applies for this game. you’ll find yourself going back to the different levels/maps/challenges and trying to do better against the scores of your rivals. you’ll find yourself attempting to memorize where the enemies are coming from and how best to take them down so that you can maximize your combo meter. best of all, there are multiple gameplay modes to keep things fresh. for example, there’s your ‘time attack’ challenge where you’ll have to manuever through a maze of streets or buildings in a certain amount of time while stringing together kill combos and trying to stay alive. and if you’re good, you’ll find all of the secret stuff along the way. there are also a siege, find the exit, and timed-run challenges in each location.
the only complaint i have is that there isn’t enough different between how each of the characters play. speed, strength and stamina are the three skills you have attached to each character, but the only one you can tell a difference with is speed…and to be honest, that’s pretty essential. speed allows you not only to move through the levels faster, but it also allows you to string together your combos quicker because the enemies actually run away from you in some instances..in which case, if you have to chase them down and you have a slow character, you’re pretty well screwed. i wold have liked to have seen a bigger variety of attributes…at least aiming and perhaps dodging. that would have made the character play feel a little more unique for each one.
value: 7 - i’m sure you can guess that the gameplay is repetitive…but that’s to be expected when you’re dealing with essentially what equates to a run-and-gun racing game. the value shines through in that you’ll find incentive in wanting to increase your score against your opponents so that you can place 1st, 2nd or 3rd within each location. doing this will eventually unlock two more playable characters. but i feel like once you’ve memorized the flow of a level and where the enemies will spawn, you’re going to have an easy time of it.
the multiplayer sucks. it feels half-finished. that’s all i’ll say about that. if you’re looking for a good multiplayer game, here there be monsters…so go away…
bias: 8.5 - i like third person games. i like third person games that involve over-the-top characters running around and blowing away bad guys. i especially like third person games that try to innovate the genre, and i feel like this one actually does that by focusing on incorpating some elements from a traditional racing game. it really does feel like a nice little hybrid of the two genres. that’s no surprise, seeing that the game manufacturer (bizarre creations) created the ‘project gotham racing’ series.
total 8 - i probably shouldn’t have bought this. it’s more of a renter for sure in that it’s certainly fun, kind of different and provides quick entertainment, but it’s not worth $60.00. i’d love to see more variety in the mechanics of the characters and i think i’d be happier if the sound wasn’t so…lackluster. and i’m really dissappointed by the multiplayer, although i’m not known as the multiplayer guy or anything.
however, if you’re looking something fun, quick, and easy to get into, i highly recommend renting it.
